“Video games are usually the sweet spot. I’ll give them 20 minutes to play a few games then ask them if they would like to program a game that’s one-tenth as cool as the one they just played,” said Singh, 24. “That hooks them.”

Singh was sitting in a UC Santa Cruz classroom in 2015, baffled by another computer science lecture, when he noticed a flaw in the professor’s teaching method. He would first write the code out on paper and explain what each line of code did. He would then type the same code into a computer and execute the code to share the results with the class.

“I realized he could have more time to explain the concepts if he didn’t have to waste time typing out the code he’d already written,” Singh said.

An idea was born. Singh approached his computer science tutor, Alfie Young, and asked if they could build an app that would allow users to handwrite code, convert it to text and run it all in the same screen.

The concept was good enough to win third place in the UCSC Business Design Showcase. The fledgling organization used the $2,000 in prize money to incorporate.

“Which, in hindsight, was about the dumbest thing we could have done,” said Singh.

Yet incorporation forced the group to develop the Code Naturally idea. By Fall 2015, an app existed and the company had refocused its target market to the K to 12th grade set. A pilot program at Branciforte Middle School in January 2016 further refined the Code Naturally concept.

“It became clear that kids loved programming, but hated having to write code by hand. Most students opted to type instead,” said Young, 23.

So the team, which now included programmer Gabriel De La Mora, 24, rebuilt the application based on student and teacher feedback, eliminating the handwriting feature.

Student could create illustrations, animations and games in JavaScript, but the Code Naturally app suddenly began to look more like a curriculum than a tool. Singh and company began to pursue the idea of project-based learning and experimented with how to give students ownership over the projects they pursued.

The Code Naturally team knew it was on to something after completing a pilot program with a class of Brook Knoll fourth graders in March 2016.

“At the end of the program, we gave them a modified quiz from the Processing 5J class at UC Santa Cruz,” said Singh. “The 4th graders scored an average of 74 percent; about two points lower than the UCSC students taking the introductory class.”

In the summer of 2016, Code Naturally took the curriculum concept a step further, launching its first coding camps.

In addiition to coding skills, campers learned how programmers break down large projects and plan collaboration to efficiently divide and conquer complex problems, Singh said.

“My favorite students are the ones who come in thinking math doesn’t apply to their life in any way,” said Singh.

Code Naturally brought on Kristian Talley, 25, to help develop the curricular aspects of the company. Together, the team launched in-school programs at Brook Knoll, Vine Hill, Branciforte and Mission Hill. They also found support from Microsoft and Driscoll’s to help bring the program to Bradley Elementary in Pajaro.

This summer, the Code Naturally camps will expand to host third to ninth graders from June to August.

So what’s next? Code Naturally has opted to avoid the venture capital route to maintain control of the company’s trajectory. Instead, it will focus on training groups of teachers, developing an educational staff and making the app available statewide.

“Education is not something I believe can scale fast,” said Singh.

For more information about Code Naturally and Santa Cruz summer camps, visit codenaturally.com.